Defensive Rankings

While some will target defenses earlier in fantasy drafts (rounds 6-9) I prefer to hold out til after the 10th. Defenses are slightly easier to predict than kickers, which doesn't say much. There are a few easy picks each season, but beyond that, it can become tricky to identify the "sleeper" defense out there, and many trendy/expert/sexy picks tend to deteriorate due to injury, poor offensive support, or some other reason. So, while I don't advocate spending too early of a pick on one, it can't hurt to try to get a decent one and then then just pick up whoever is playing the worst offense in the league in your bye week.

1) Minnesota- This is the consensus #1 defense this year. They were already the best run-stopping unit in the league, and Jared Allen will help bolster the pass rush. The secondary is still week, but this defense should make teams one-dimensional early in games and rack up sacks, turnovers, and keep the points scored low.

2) San Diego- Last year: 1st in INTs (30). 2nd in Fumbles Recovered (18). 5th in Sacks (42). They didn't lose much in the off-season and have a great young nucleus of players. They also make a safe pick for you defense.

3) Pittsburgh- This unit is well-rounded and has great support from its offense. They might not be the flashiest defense, and their turnover numbers are lower than others, but they are consistent and improving.

4) New York Giants- I'm still not convinced they're as good as they played during the playoffs, but it's hard to deny their pass-rushing capability. Strahan is done, but Tuck will become an every down lineman this year. The weak link here is the secondary, which should continue to improve as young players like Aaron Ross and rookie Kenny Phillips develop.

5) New England- The best defense is a good offense? The Pats better hope so. The defense is aging, Asante Samuel is gone. At least Jerod Mayo finally brings some youth to the AARP card-carrying line-backing corps.

6) Jacksonville- A new defensive coordinator should improve this unit. While no particular area stands out, none is particularly weak, either. The conservative offense will help keep the defense fresh and points against down.

7) Tennessee- As long as Albert is healthy, this defense is good. They lost a good pass rusher in Antwan Odom in the off-season and they have a few young players, but they should be able to stop the run and get to the passer, both critical for long-term success.

8) Dallas- "Patriots Lite." The defense is a little better and the offense is a little worse than the Pats, but their biggest strength is having an offense than can absolutely bury a team in the first half, which makes for easy sacks and INTs in the second half.

9) Chicago- Oh, how the mighty have fallen. This defense is a prime example of what happens to a great defense when it's paired with an absolutely atrocious offense. They still have the talent in place to be the top unit in the league, but unfortunately, their inept offense will wear them down before long, and the division is quickly becoming tougher.

10) Seattle- A consistently underrated defense (even in these rankings!). They had the 4th most sacks and INTs last season, and even 3rd most fantasy points in default formats. Yet for some reason, they never get too much attention going into the season. They benefit from a weak division.

11) Philadelphia- Here's a good defense to take a gamble on. They did poorly last year, but they added Asante Samuel this year and didn't trade Lito Sheppard. Their secondary is absolutely loaded which will allow them to load up in the box and shut down the run. They should improve drastically this year.

12) San Francisco- Yes, this is a bit of a homer pick, but hear me out. They have one of the best young linebackers in the league with Patrick Willis. They're not nearly as injured as last year, they made another big free agent move with Justin Smith, and Nate Clements is still playing corner. If they can get any help from the offense, I think they could easily be in the top 12 given the weak divisional opponents they'll get to play. They make a sneaky/risky/brave/stupid DEF2 pick.

Summer of Favre

This summer, there has been one story line - Brett Favre. Unlike a normal summer, in which we hear sugar-coated training camp stories from various teams, Favre has dominated every Sports Center broadcast, every SI article, and even water-cooler conversations at the office. Those looking to catch some training camp news and perhaps identify a sleeper or two (myself included) are frustrated at having our interests put on the back-burner for an absolute circus in Green Bay.

While I haven't taken the time to create a comprehensive ranking sheet for the skill positions, I will mention a few players I like for each position in this posting, and I'll be working on a top-12 team defense/special teams ranking list and have that up in the near future. Hopefully, as we're getting closer to prime drafting time, I'll have completed a ranking system for each position (top 25? not sure). I'll keep you all updated with that.

Also, once the season begins, I will have at least one weekly posting with my picks of the week and probably a brief, fantasy oriented, sit/start column, also weekly. The summer may have been a little slow, but we'll be fully ramped up into the regular season here in no time.

PLAYERS I LIKE FOR VARIOUS REASONS

QB

1) Carson Palmer, Cincinnati- Sure, lots of people like Carson Palmer. I get the feeling though, after a season that didn't live up to lofty fantasy expectations last year, and all the CJ madness after the season, that he will be slightly under-valued. If you can snag him with a 4th or 5th round pick, you'll be getting a great value.

2) Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia- He's not the most popular guy given his past couple seasons, but he had a solid finish last year (4 games, 7 TDs, 1 INT). While he still has mediocre receivers, the offense is built around Brian Westbrook (who should also have a monstrous season if he remains healthy). I think Donovan is probably near the bottom of the top 10 QBs this year, but might be able to be had with a later pick in some drafts because of his injury history

3) Alex Smith, San Francisco- He certainly can't get much worse. Moreover, if Mike Martz can turn Jon Kitna into a top 5 fantasy QB, there's hope for Alex. I consider him a risky QB2 selection with upside.

4) Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay- He's been the real victim out of the Brett Favre fiasco, so he has karma on his side. Also, I can't help but thinking of what happened with Joe Montana and Steve Young. The kid has no track record, other than the game against Dallas last season, but he could be a worthwhile QB2 in deeper leagues.

RBs

1) Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants- I liked him last year, and still like him this year. He's good... when he plays.

2) Marion Barber, Dallas- I wasn't too keen on him early in the off-season, but it sounds like with Julius Jones leaving town, it'll be the Marion Barber show with a much smaller dose of Jones (Felix). He could be a TD machine this season, given how potent the offense is.

3) Frank Gore, San Francisco- He was a border-line bust last year. However, Martz knows how to build an offense around a versatile RB (See: Marshall Faulk, 1999-2002) and while the O-line is young, I would anticipate some improvement in their play.

4) Jamal Lewis, Cleveland- He'll be steal if he repeats or improves upon last year's numbers.

5) Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh- The new version of the Old, TD-Vulturing Jerome Bettis.

WRs

1) Vincent Jackson, San Diego- Chambers will open up the field for Jackson as he improves.

2) Chad Johnson, Cincinnati- Hopefully he'll be the NFL version of Kobe Bryant and light up the stat-sheet after looking like a moron the entire off season.

3) Santonio Holmes, Pittsburgh- The progression of the Ward-Holmes tandem is paralleling that of the Harrison-Wayne tandem in Indy; it's just a season or two behind.

4) Patrick Crayton, Dallas- He should benefit greatly from the departure of Terry Glenn, and there should be plenty of TDs to go around in Dallas.

TEs

1) Chris Cooley, Washington- Jason Campbell's development is coming along nicely.

2) Ben Utecht, Cincinnati- He was stuck behind Dallas Clark in Indy and should be a big factor underneath for the Bengals as their starting TE.

3) Jeremy Shockey, New Orleans- Another weapon for a pass heavy offense. And their defense didn't get much better, so they should continue to throw the ball a ton. Shockey has always been talented, and now should be more motivated.